Who are you??

"Do you ever find yourself checking to make sure that you do something that will gain your approval from someone else? You might be very careful to say something a certain way so the listener doesn't think you're odd or weird in any way. Ever notice that your clothing looks a lot like the clothing of the people you're hanging out with? Maybe everyone around you is using words like "like" and "bro" every 5th word and therefore you do it too. Because the last thing we want to do, is stick out. To dress, speak, think or behave differently than your friends, family and co-workers could get you in trouble. And worst of all it could leave you open to ridicule. No one likes to have their differences pointed out in front of others. This might have mattered in junior high school, but once you grow up, being different is how you stand out. Standing out is how you break out of the sameness that is keeping you from loving life.

When everything around you says to stay the same, to fit in, it's hard to break out of the ho-hum, humdrum world you find yourself in. Everything you want comes from asking yourself what you want, not the drag-ass people in your life who want you to be like them. Your journey should be as unique as your DNA. Your choices, actions and words need come from deep inside. What is your gut and mind telling you? If outside influences feel wrong then they probably are. And by the way, what you want and who you are requires working your butt off. Choosing to sit on your ass because your gut tells you to is a lie. Study, practice, effort, time and patience are all part of an authentic journey. It's you doing, that allows you to be you. Sometimes just the thought of all that will make you feel like you're hanging in the wind, but most often it will give you the strength to feel like you control your destiny.

When you're living for others and just surviving, the weight of the world sits on you like a two ton truck. When you choose to stand up and stand out, and be the person you were meant to be, the world is a playground filled with adventure and possibilities. Open the door, look around, step inside and go play. If you're choosing the journey based on your desires to be unique and happy, life never feels like work. It feels spectacular and glorious! Why wouldn't you deserve that? You do. We all do. The first steps to getting there requires your desire to change. Your reasons why and plan need to be written down. Change only happens when you're in the game every day. Turn off the tube, pick up a book, do the workout, hang out with creative, smart hard working people and ask plenty of questions along the way."

--Tony Horton